Hill of Fire
"Hill of Fire" is Episode 3 in Season 3. It originally aired on June 3, 1985. Synopsis The episode begins with LeVar visiting the island of Hawaii, the home of active volcanoes. He is on location in Volcanoes National Park. There's always a show to see here! He is standing near Mount Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to actually see an erupting volcano in action. Half a mile away from him, Kilauea is spouting lava 11,000 feet in the air. That's twice as tall as any skyscraper. He has never seen anything like it before up close. Lava is hot, melted rock that comes from inside the Earth. It is pumped up through tunnels that lead out of volcanoes. It can turn anything it touches into fire. It can move in red, rushing rivers of flame. No matter where you are in Hawaii, you are always walking on a volcano, because the islands are really the tips of those giant volcanoes sticking out in the middle of the ocean. Some no longer erupt, but those that still do let you know that they're hot inside. Because the Earth is so hot, rainwater drips through cracks and boils into steam so that the volcano will be ready to blow. They aren't born very frequently, but there was one that was born in Mexico during the 1940s. The title book tells you how it happened. The lava from Kilauea covered what used to be a big forest now covered with volcanic rock. Trees that are coated with the lava from the eruption are known as lava trees. Some of them are still active in the lava forest. Scientists who study volcanoes are called volcanologists. They use tools to try to predict one's eruption. A seismometer is an instrument that measures the forces inside the Earth. There is rock there, which is divided into three parts: the core, the mantle, and the crust. Melted rock in volcanoes is called magma. Lava is what it's called when it comes out of the volcano. After the eruption, it sinks back into the volcano's magma chamber beneath the Earth. In time, natural weather turns the volcanic rock into fertile soil. Three of the 600 volcanoes in the world are in Hawaii. There are two kinds of lava that come from volcanoes: aa (which is rough and chunky) and pahoehoe (which is smooth). Fragments of lava that look like golden strands of hair are called Pele's hair (named after the Hawaiian goddess of fire). When you look at lava closely, it looks shiny and beautiful with all its designs. Not only can you see it on the surface of volcanic rock, you can also find lava drips; what happen when it gets cooled and hardened on the outside but it's still hot on the inside. Many artists have been inspired have been inspired by volcanoes and volcanic rock. Chu Liong is one of them. He lives on Kilauea Summit, where he uses the volcanic rock for his artistic work. He says that feeling that kind of rock is almost like touching the Earth. One of his pieces he is seen working on is a symbol of the volcano. The glazes he uses for his art come from the Earth with different textures, and the kiln is what makes the art come alive. He also uses a process called racu. The idea for him when he does his art is to find the enjoyment and to express yourself. The volcano he is inspired by is Mount Kilauea. LeVar is with Christina Heliker, who is a geologist at Volcanoes National Park. She shows him rare activity of the erupting volcano. They learn about how one works to predict the eruptions. Beneath where they're standing is magma and a bed which was an earlier eruption. LeVar tells the viewers that volcanoes do more than destroy things. They have the power to create something beautiful like the Hawaiian islands. Their fire brings the stuff for life on Earth. Review Books *Emma's Dragon Hunt *The Science Flip Book Series *The Tamarindo Puppy Category:Season 3 Category:Episodes